Saturday, March 11, 2017

The only elected official up for re-election is Commissioner McVoy. He needs to suppress the vote and hope for a low voter turnout next Tuesday to get re-elected. Basically he needs to rally his trusted base of 400–600 voters and count on votes because of “name recognition” and from others who just don’t pay attention to what’s going on for various reasons: not enough time, “don’t like politics”, etc.

March 2015 was an extremely low voter turnout. Dismal. And so was the turnout for the bond referendum in August 2014. That bond vote in 2014 was defeated by just 25 votes and McVoy was elected by just 1,636 votes against an unknown and untested opponent in 2015.

The elections in 2016 were just the opposite due to a high voter turnout. Mayor Pam Triolo, Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell, and Commissioner Andy Amoroso were all re-elected by landslides. The Neighborhood Bond referendum also was a landslide victory, with 69% of voters saying “Yes” to the bond.

Briefly, here’s the chronology of McVoy’s previous elections and his involvement fixing the City’s roads and potholes following his initial election in 2010 (his campaign promise was to come up with a plan to fix our City roads in 2010):

In 2012 he faced a serious challenger and won. However, the Post endorsed the challenger, Jim Stafford, citing McVoy’s broken campaign promises in 2010.

2013: By referendum, municipal elections were moved from November to March, so McVoy’s next election was moved to March 2015.

August 2014: The first bond referendum was defeated by a loose coalition formed by McVoy, the bond vote losing by just 25 votes.

March 2015: McVoy wins again in a very low turnout election. Many voters were still unaware in 2015 elections had been moved to March from November like they had been previously.

Then:

March 2016: The majority on the City Commission (Triolo, Maxwell, Amoroso) win by landslides, high voter turnout.

November 2016: Second bond referendum wins by a landslide. Another high voter turnout.

Now let’s examine why the first bond referendum lost in 2014. There is one very clear example why that happened, it was due to low voter turnout and some voter suppression as well.

Below is an analysis that was done of the election results back on August 26th, 2014. Once again, remember, that bond vote to fix our roads and potholes lost by just 25 votes and that’s significant.

On the map below (click on or hover to enlarge) focus on the southern part of Lake Worth, precincts 7160, 7162, and 3078. What happened on each side of I-95 is startling in contrast, especially knowing the terrible condition of the roads east of I-95 in District 1. Road conditions that have only gotten worse since August 2014 and have continued to deteriorate ever since.

Note the dismal voter turnout east of I-95 and south of 6th Ave. South (below the red “2” on the map). The first number is votes “For” the 2014 LW2020 bond.

I was shocked again just like I was when seeing these numbers for the first time almost 3 years ago. Not so much by the dismal turnout City-wide in 2014 but specifically by the low voter turnout east of I-95 and south of 6th Ave. South. Note the totals when compared with the much smaller precinct 3078 which is west of I-95:

3078: Votes AGAINST the bond in 2014, 202

7160: Votes FOR the bond, 92

7162: Votes FOR, 81

The difference? Twenty-nine (29) more votes AGAINST the bond from west of I-95in precinct 3078. Remember, the 2014 bond vote lost by just 25 votes. Twenty-five.

Had just 26 more voters east of I-95 voted “For Bonds”, many of our streets and potholes would be fixed already.

Anecdotally back then heard reports of voters being turned away at the polls in precincts 7160 and 7162 for various reasons. Many were also directed by “workers” to the wrong polling location which caused quite a bit of frustration. Some ended up returning to their original precinct to vote, the correct one to begin with. Of course, that’s the voters who bothered to go through all the trouble.

So, what does this all have to do with McVoy next Tuesday, Election Day? He needs to suppress the vote in many areas of the City, areas and neighborhoods with terrible infrastructure and streets and also hope many voters don’t remember his involvement is scuttling the bond vote in 2014 and his attempt to scuttle a bond vote once again in 2016.

So, who are the winners and losers if there is a low voter turnout next Tuesday? Almost everybody loses and there will be very few winners.

How to get a high voter turnout next Tuesday? That’s very easy. Remind people what McVoy did. Get busy folks and hope to see long lines on Election Day.

Friday, March 10, 2017

Consider Commissioner McVoy a multi-year, double-blind (pardon the pun) experiment. Does the City of Lake Worth (or any city for that matter), need someone with a PhD on the Commission? After 7 years the results are in. No. We don’t.

One reason why McVoy is so unprepared and late for City Commission meetings all the time:

McVoy is counting on good luck to get re-elected next Tuesday running on coattails of the majority on the City Commission. He’s not trying to stir things up, “lying low” in the muck for endangered gadflies(Obstructicanus mcvoyticus) in the Everglades.

It’s important to remember that for McVoy to get re-elected again he’s counting on “name recognition” and a very low voter turnout. Some think McVoy is not beatable. Not true at all. Especially after what he said at the City Commission on Jan. 24th, his latest silly reason for opposing last November’s bond referendum.

Photo taken soon after the new Casino opened in 2012. Comm. McVoy (center, beaming) now thinks all the problems at our Beach can be fixed with “coats of paint and whatnot”. Recognize anyone else from a previous City administration?

McVoy was first elected in 2010. For some perspective, it was in 2010 a man rose from obscurity named Conan O’Brien and became big news, something about late night TV.

McVoy was re-elected in 2012 and again in 2015. In 2015 he received 1,636 votes. That’s it. How does an incumbent win with only 1,636 votes? His campaign succeeded in suppressing the vote by going so negative a lot of voters got disgusted and stayed home.

Following the landslide re-elections of Mayor Pam Triolo, Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell, and Commissioner Andy Amoroso in March of 2016 and the road bond referendum later that year in November there aren’t many “hot button” issues like baked ziti and McVoy’s false accusations of Sunshine Law violations.
So McVoy is hoping to skate sideways—or put another way—flitter like a gadfly into another 2 year term on the City Commission. All because of the hard work and successes of everyone else on the City dais, not anything he’s done.

Interestingly, at the Commission meeting on Jan. 10th McVoy brought up the issue of term limits:

Isn’t one of the reasons for term limits to get new, fresh ideas from the City Commission?

The Cultural Council of Palm Beach County is located at 601 Lake Ave. in Downtown Lake Worth. Open Tuesday through Saturday* from 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Plenty of free parking nearby. Call 561-471-2901 for more information.

For more news, notices, local business ads, and community events subscribe to The Lake Worth Herald. The print edition is available at the City’s newsstand located at 600 Lake Ave. in the Downtown. The Herald print edition is still ¢50! Below is an excerpt about another exhibit at the Cultural Council:

The adage “Good things come in small packages” is being expressed artistically in the “X × X” exhibition ongoing now at the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County. The exhibition willrun through March 18 in the Cultural Council main gallery. Gallery visitors will see works across several media such as paintings, prints, drawings, photography, collage, textiles, metal, assemblage, ceramic relief and mixed media, created by 68 professional artists and 32 students from Palm Beach County elementary, middle and high schools. The Cultural Council hosted a Call to Create for this juried exhibition, in which every artwork is exactly 10 × 10 × 1 inches in size. Artists were asked to create work in any medium, on any subject, bound only by the limitation of size. All artists live or work in Palm Beach County, and they include students at various levels from grade school to college, senior citizens and amateur and professional artists.

*The Cultural Council is closed Sunday and Monday. For any other questions send an email to: info@palmbeachculture.com

Please Note: There is an “Open House” today at the Dept. of Community Sustainability from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., located at 1900 2nd Ave. North.Use this link for the press release from the City.

I happened to visit the Dept. of Community Sustainability office on Wednesday for a matter. This office houses the planning, historic resources, building and code enforcement staff. The whole look of the interior has been transformed.

Bright, contemporary colors combine the walls, office furniture and signage. You are greeted by a row of “windows” clearly marked “Customer Service” with a chair in front of each. This allows you to talk face-to-face with the city employee behind the opening. There are more new chairs in a waiting area.

For those who have never visited this office, a large conference room with windows (physically unchanged) lines the eastern wall so you can see who is meeting but not able to hear what is being said. Once in the conference room there are new black chrome office chairs along with more bright, contemporary colors.

I really encourage you to check out the “Open House” all day tomorrow.

The staff was very interested and engaged about whether you were being helped or if there was anything you needed while waiting. This combined with the steady heartbeat of press releases coming from the City’s Communications Specialist† (about time for a better title?) gives me more reason for hope about the future of our City.

We are seeing the transformation of our local government before our very eyes. There is still work to be done in terms of operational efficiency, but again, these changes are positive physical signs that things remain moving in the right direction.

*The idea of changing the name of the City of Lake Worth to “Lake Worth Beach”, “Jewell”, and the most recent idea, “New Lake Worth”, continues to be bantered about and discussed. Possibly an item at a future City Commission meeting?
†Would Ben Kerr be the City’s spokesman? Another way of saying “Communications Specialist”? For questions and media inquiries contact Mr. Kerr at 561-586-1631; email: bkerr@lakeworth.org

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Check back later on to review the growing bullet list with questions about this article in the print edition today (page B1, below the fold) and generally about the election news this year about the City of Lake Worth in the Post.

Also find out below what the editors at the Post don’t think (and didn’t think previously) the voters need to know about, e.g., large-scale projects on the horizon in this City, “distinct strides” thus far unreported—draw your own conclusions why—and what the editors, in their opinion, think the voters need to know about next Tuesday, Election Day:

Why wasn’t the condition of our roads listed as one of the “deep-rooted issues” voters care about? Maybe because Commissioner McVoy opposed the bond and 69% of voters disagreed with him?

Why wasn’t the error on March 6th corrected? There is no election in District 3 this year.

A major Downtown polling location was eliminated. Two precincts with a high voter turnout. The Post never reported this. Why not?

Likely in response to non-factual, misleading news reports the City
hired a Media Specialist. Comm. McVoy was quoted today, “We have a
noticeable number of people on the edge on whether they are staying in
the city or if they’re going to move. . .”. Was it articles like this one, later retracted, that contributed to so many misconceptions about
our City?

The “code compliance division under fire” is another quote in the article today? Would that be because the Post falsely reported the Gulfstream Hotel remains closed because of the Code Dept.? Totally untrue.

City Manager Michael Bornstein called another Post article about Code, “egregious” and “incompetent”. Did that create more “fire” on this election issue? The Post editor(s) never responded to its news report being called “egregious” and “incompetent”. Why not? Because it was?

On March 6th in the Post a quote by candidate Omari Hardy
was taken out of context. Mr. Hardy was referring to Comm. McVoy’s lack
of focus on the issues and problems in District 2 at the Playhouse
debate. One of those issues important to Mr. Hardy are finding ways to increase home ownership.

Did you notice in the article today the line, “Unfortunately, the problem is never going to be solved”, a quote from Herman Robinson was used completely out of context. The quote is referring to the heroin epidemic, not street lighting in our City.

When Laura Tingo was hired to be the City’s media specialist that made
the print edition. She was put on “the hot seat”. She soon left that position. When the next person was hired, a man, it went unreported in
the Post. Would that be an example of sexism?

The Post references “distinct strides of late” in Lake Worth. Isn’t news
about renewable energy one of those “distinct strides”? Why is this
news going unreported in the Post? Don’t the editors think the voters in
this City care?

The Blueway Trail is a project that will help “a city struggling to
realize its potential” and revitalize businesses and tourism but is also going unreported in the Post. Why
would that be you think?

The editors thought Hoffman’s Chocolate closing a Downtown location was
big news for residents and voters to know about. Around the
same time though, they never reported shutting down their Tallahassee
Bureau and let reporters John Kennedy and David Rogers go. (FYI. The Sun Sentinel in Broward County prints the Post newspapers. How many Lake Worth residents used to work at that former facility on Dixie Hwy. in WBP? Press work wages are very good. Union jobs too.)

Last November on the question of “Yes” for the Neighborhood Road Bond
or “No” against, the Post editor(s) didn’t make an endorsement. Why not? Flipped a coin and lost it under the sofa?

And we haven’t even touched on the Beach, pool, and the mayor’s State of the City Address yet! Check back tomorrow and Thank You for visiting today.

And. . . on Jan. 30th the debate at the Playhouse went unreported in the Post. But “Artsy Fartsy Decor & More” was the big news of the day “IN FOCUS: LAKE WORTH”?

Kevin Thompson is a reporter. Reporters have a team of editors that verify facts prior to publication and are responsible to The Editor. Would you like to review the bullet list once again?

City board volunteers are the backbone of Lake Worth. Without them our City couldn’t function. But who would want to volunteer their time, energy, and being away from the family at night after hearing what Commissioner Chris McVoy, PhD, said at a Commission meeting?

A crucial part of the City’s Neighborhood Road Improvement bond (which passed overwhelmingly last November) will be an advisory committee, the Finance Advisory Board, to oversee the process. We learned at a Commission meeting last October this oversight committee will increase from 7 members to 14 for more community representation.

Was this enough to placate McVoy who has opposed any plan to fix the streets and potholes? No.

Not even that was good enough.McVoy then went on to suggest these volunteers couldn’t be trusted. Mayor Pam Triolo took great offense to this as did many others in the Commission chambers that day. We simply cannot have volunteers serving the City being used as political footballs by “raising
the question”, casting doubt and suspicion about volunteers.

Have you ever sat through one of McVoy’s lectures from the dais? “Make speeches”, talk “at great length”, and the ever-looming, “raise the question”.

Sadly, this kind of political attack is not new. The statement (see below) was originally posted last March on this blog. This was in the lead-up to the municipal elections in 2016. Mr. Greg Rice, the Chair of Lake Worth’s Planning and Zoning Board, demanded an apology (which he never received) for false statements made about volunteers on the P&Z board (see video below):

“I would like to make a public statement. Somebody running for city
commissioner [the challenger to Commissioner Andy Amoroso] has made public comments at public
meetings accusing members of this Planning and Zoning Board, and there
are several of them in this room tonight, for being involved in secret
meetings with the developer of the Gulfstream hotel and the Planning and
Zoning Board. He’s making a slanderous statement. That has never happened [emphasis added]. I
want everybody to realize that. I don’t know why, whatever that means,
to possibly create doubt and suspicion about what’s going on here at
City Hall. But these volunteers on this board that aren’t elected
officials that are serving this City, making the sacrifices, this could
have a significant, things like slanderous statements like that, could
have a significant impact on their ability to be able to make a living.
Especially those that are involved in professions that are
construction-related or design-related. I would like an apology before
the election that [‘secret meetings’] never happened.”

Use this link for the video—hear the quote above for yourself—Mr. Rice giving his yearly Planning and Zoning Board update. Now you can better understand why it’s so hard to find volunteers, especially professionals in a specific field, to serve communities like the City of Lake Worth.

Elections are very important. In more ways than you may think. Hope this helps you to “raise the question” about one particular commissioner up for re-election, next Tuesday, March 14th.

Please note: Below is a re-post from yesterday just in case anyone missed this latest update. Stay tuned throughout the week for more information with a photo or image including a short explanation. At the end of this blog post is a link to the original post from March 6th and an update that followed.As always, Thank You for visiting today.

The image below is roughly the position of the proposed fishing piers on the West Palm Beach side and in Spillway Park (Lake Worth). Remember, these will be constructed using concrete pilings and much closer to the water, better for fishermen and the fish too. The piers that existed prior were about 15′ above the water. Upon catch and release the fish weren’t given any favors when hitting the water with a loud Smack!

In defense of fishermen and fisherwomen, there was and still is no access to the waterline by trail or any other means, due to heavy vegetation, trees, and debris.

Click on image to enlarge:

The image above (orientation: up is north) is a current one with an overlay of the proposed fishing piers on each side of the C-51 Canal. The S-155 Spillway is on the left (west). Water flows east into the Intracoastal, aka, Lake Worth Lagoon.

One of the big benefits of the Blueway Trail Coalition (BTC) project are those substantial number of people who live along the freshwater Chain of Lakes along the eastern part of Palm Beach County. That waterway network, after the Blueway project is completed, will then allow those County residents access to the Intracoastal Waterway by small boat, canoe, kayak, and attract tourism and ecotourism as well.

The historical record is clear. Access to and from the Intracoastal Waterway, once upon a time, did exist. But when the S-155 was constructed, circa 1960, public access was severely limited:

Dixie and Federal highways are clearly visible in this circa 1950 photo. See what’s in between? Look close. That is a former marina in Lake Worth (south side of C-51 Canal). Read about that using this link.

Fishing and the boating industry were once vital for our regional economy in Central Palm Beach County. My theory is when the S-155 was constructed, later followed by I-95, that precipitated an almost 50 year economic decline for this part of Palm Beach County, and cities like Lake Worth are still trying to recover and find a new purpose for our once-vibrant Dixie Hwy.

Back to the first photo of the fishing piers above. The small extensions on the eastern leg of the docks will not be included in the final plan. These were to be “floating” docks. The South Florida Water Management District will not permit this type of dock on the C-51. However, another fixed extension of some type may be possible for kayakers and other uses.

For the original blog post about the BTC meeting on March 5th use this link: a blog post that is quite lengthy but does provide a lot of background and demonstrates how the project has progressed, and changed, over the last year. Use this link for the update on March 8th.

Anarchists and their supporters causing trouble in the City of Lake Worth is nothing new. Below is a completely false rumor leading up to the March elections in 2016:

An Anarchist and self-described ‘conservative’ team up to start a rumor, “The following was reported to me by Ryan Hartman. . .”.

If you’ve been hearing things about campaign contributions and vague accusations, who do you think made a campaign contribution to the Anarchist candidate Ryan Hartman last year? Click on images to enlarge:

Who is The Obtuse Blogger (TOB) supporting this year? TOB contributed campaign money to this candidate running for the “open seat” in District 4. You see, A + B = C. Anyhow. . .

At a Lake Worth City Commission meeting last January, Mayor Pam Triolo took quite the grilling from Commissioner Chris McVoy, over a campaign contribution she received back in early 2016. There was nary a word about this at the next Commission meeting on Jan. 24th from McVoy. Why?

You see, bringing up campaign contributions can be problematic sometimes, as you’ll see below.

When you’re in the position of McVoy, and have no record of success to run on, the only hope is to try and get the focus off yourself. How is that done? This tactic is actually very easy. Click this link to find out how to create a “wedge”, or political distraction.

Back to the question. Did McVoy give campaign money to an Anarchist? The answer is yes. McVoy gave money to Peter “Panagioti” Tsolkas for “Canvassing”.

So while everyone went scrambling through campaign reports this year. . .

. . . check this out one from McVoy. Oh, and do we need to rehash the “Dear Neighbor” letters too?

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

The latest press release below dated March 7th is from Ben Kerr, the City’s Communications Specialist. For further information or media inquiries contact Mr. Kerr at 561-586-1631; email: bkerr@lakeworth.org

Lake Worth, FL* — Community Sustainability Open House this FridayOn March 10 [Friday] from 8:00 am–4:00 pm the City of Lake Worth Community Sustainability Department will be hosting an Open House at 1900 Second Avenue North. This will provide an opportunity for the public to see the results of a nine month overhaul of the Community Sustainability space as part of the ongoing customer service initiative. The department’s aesthetic and organizational changes were designed to foster improved staff efficiency, productivity, effectiveness and morale as well as provide an improvement to the customer experience for all visitors.“To be able to best serve the community we have undertaken a significant upgrade to a larger and more accessible space as well as an in-depth customer service initiative. Our goal throughout has been the improvement of the customer service experience. With the number of building permits, plan reviews, business license inspections and code compliance cases up dramatically over the past few years it was important to better organize the space so that customers could be seen quickly and efficiently.”—William Waters, City of Lake Worth Director for Community Sustainability.

For the City press release dated March 6th, titled “1st Annual Historic Preservation Awards (nominations now open)”, use this link.
An awards ceremony will take place at the Lake Worth Casino Ballroom
during National Historic Preservation Month, on Wednesday, May 17th.

*Located in central Palm Beach County, Lake Worth is a dynamic, multi-cultural city with an individualistic style. People are drawn to the City by its acceptance of different cultures and lifestyles, historic districts, hip downtown and colorful arts district.

There was a big party following the completion of the ‘renovated’ Casino. Hey! Who is that in the blue shirt? “Hold on JoAnn. Did we forget to fix the pool next door?”

“It wasn’t me. I was in Mongolia”? Commissioner McVoy was first elected in 2010. Click on image to enlarge.

Anyhow, doesn’t the Greater Bay plan for the Casino and pool at our Beach look better and better all the time now that the pool is shut down because it’s crumbling and falling apart? But back then McVoy et al. had the money to fix it. Instead they all turned a blind eye to “our precious pool”.

Back in 2009 the public wasn’t permitted to see the Greater Bay plan which included a new Casino, a new pool, along with a parking garage. You see, a former administration (see photo above) wanted to keep our Beach “charming” instead.

What happens? Nothing. There’s silence from the media and the critics. The press goes on to other things (e.g., a little chocolate store closing in the Downtown) and then the “big issue” goes away.

That’s what happened with the kerfuffle over the ban on packaged alcohol sales after 10:00 p.m here in the City of Lake Worth.

After hearing what Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell had to say at the Commission meeting last December and also his comments at the meeting back on November as well, the ordinance prohibiting packaged alcohol after 10:00 pm is here to stay. Maxwell said he’s hearing positive comments and feedback from many neighborhoods and PBSO Cpt. Baer has confirmed that information: crime is down as a result and compliance with the ordinance is up:

Information from PBSO update at the Dec. 13th City Commission meeting.

However, at a City Commission meeting last September many convenience store owners showed up to express their displeasure at public comment and during break at the dais. Maxwell insisted that store owners, per the rules, give their home address and not their business address. It wasn’t lost on many that none of those addresses were in the City of Lake Worth. The cities I recall where the owners reside was Wellington, Riviera Beach, Boynton Beach, Broward County, etc.

Draw your own conclusions. From the City’s website, learn the reason why this ordinance was adopted in the first place:

In response to neighborhood concerns and thanks to a new City Ordinance, it is now illegal to sell packaged alcohol products between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. The law is designed to help stop unnecessary, late night commotion associated with breaches to open container laws taking place in parking lots and outside of shopping venues.Under the Ordinance, bar hours will not change. Restaurants and establishments with a valid liquor license may continue to serve alcohol on-site.The City was motivated to create the Ordinance due to numerous calls to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office about public disturbance issues surrounding packaged sales outlets. Deputies found that people were treating stores like “de facto bars,” going in, buying a single packaged item, drinking it outside and coming back in to buy more.

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

To read the first segment about this news, the latest changes and proposals going forward, use this link. The blog post below and more to follow will be much shorter reading but will examine certain specifics in detail.

Fishing piers were always part of the plan—and the overall project—for both sides of the C-51 Canal, Lake Worth and West Palm Beach. The
photo below is a proposed cross-section which would employ
the use of concrete pilings, not like the wooden pilings of the past. Any pilings used for fishing piers would be constructed so vibration is held to a minimum
to protect the water control structure, the Spillway (S-155).

Where the Intracoastal Waterway (aka, Lake Worth Lagoon) meets the C-51 Canal is known as one of the best Snook fishing areas in the state of Florida.

Until recently, wooden fishing piers extended from the north (West Palm) and south (Lake Worth) sides of the C-51 and were located east of the S-155. Those have been closed due to their deterioration and safety reasons.

Two years ago, on the Lake Worth pier, the shaking and swaying of the pier became quite noticeable and the ‘writing was on the wall’, so to speak. Quite unsettling some times was watching a fisherman catch and release. The pier was about 15′ above the water and the fish caught and released made a big loud splash when they hit.

A triple-whammy for that poor animal. A hook in the mouth, slapped silly, and easy catching for a larger fish. The good news is any new piers to be constructed will be lower, much closer to the water.

The Blueway Trail group talked briefly about queuing of vessels waiting to bypass the S-155 and where that location would be. Locations were considered and also discussed was a signalization system to notify boaters. Stay tuned for more about that.

In the slide above note the existing debris device (buoy and flotation line) that traps trash and vegetation and feeds most of that material to the south (Lake Worth side). The new plan would reorient this process so that debris is directed north. This would allow for more efficient debris collection and leave a clear passage for kayaks and canoes, for example, and also be the queuing area for vessels using the boat lift.

Stay tuned for information, time and location, of the next Blueway Trail Coalition meeting. These meetings are very well run as one would expect of any meeting attended by the South Florida Water Management District and the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council. All city representatives, staff, and other entities in attendance were well-prepared ahead of time for every topic of discussion. . . just in case you’re wondering how much can possibly get done in one meeting.

The Lake Worth municipal pool is closed due to safety and structural concerns and will not re-open for several years at the Beach. However, it’s possible a new pool will be constructed at the same location or at another location in the City. Stay tuned.

Recently I tried out the Lake Lytal Park pool. Click this link for the hours of operation, call 561-233-1426 or 561-233-1427. The pool is closed on Sunday and Monday.

Parking is FREE at the Lake Lytal Aquatic Center.

Admission for adults is the odd amount of $4.02. Bring two pennies so you don’t get a handful of change in return. If you wish get a 20-visit pass for only $48.75. That brings the cost/visit to $2.44.

The Lake Lytal pool is very similar to the Lake Worth pool: 50 meter Olympic-sized with 25 meter swimming lanes side to side. The pool is well-staffed. There is a slide for kids that opens up later in the year. The pool is heated as well. There is a very prominent digital clock that counts down by seconds for serious lap swimmers and includes the actual time of day too. A nice feature.

The sight and sound of planes coming and going from PBIA is prominent. The airport is just to the north. The surroundings are pleasant and park-like, slash pines and a variety of palm trees. About half of the lanes were being used when I was there. The water was very clear and there was always a lifeguard scrubbing the floor of the pool in one section or another.

I have bumped into some familiar Lake Worth pool people who have made the switch already. And FYI, carpooled recently with another refugee from our pool. Something to think about.

“Lake Worth is poised for some major upgrades following residents’
approval — by a whopping 69 percent — of a $40 million
road repair bond. . .”—Quote by Rick Christie, the editor of The Palm Beach Post, in a commentary titled, “A few quick takeaways from 2016 election”.

The reason why the City of Lake Worth continues to improve and deal with many long-ignored problems comes down to one thing: a high voter turnout. A low turnout will guarantee that Commissioner McVoy gets re-elected. Do you want more obstructionism and delay tactics for 2 more years?

Remember, it was the high voter turnout last November that began the process of fixing our roads and potholes, a plan that McVoy opposed and fought from the very beginning. All the while, McVoy never bothered to come up with a plan himself, even though he had 2 whole years to do so.

McVoy always promised since 2010, when he was first elected, to fix the roads but in 2014 he scuttled a road bond (by just 25 votes) and in 2016 he tried again and but failed that time. Do you want a commissioner who helps to fix problems or one that just sits back and tries to create them?

Last November 8th the voters turned out in high numbers for the City’s Neighborhood Road Bond, passing overwhelmingly with 69% of the vote.

Whilst our City staff, City Manager, Mayor Pam Triolo, Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell, and Commissioners Andy Amoroso and Ryan Maier worked so hard and “stuck their necks out”* to fix our City’s crumbling streets. . . don’t forget the critics who just sat on their hands and did nothing for well over two years:

The very same critics who said we need “more charrettes” and more meetings are the very same ones who could have organized their very own charrettes and meetings and tried to come up with a better plan than the City’s. But instead they did nothing.

There’s another election in Lake Worth in just 8 days, on March 14th. Another day to make your voice heard. So please remember who did the hard work and remember those who just played the role of obstructionist and offered no solutions of their own.

Please don’t forget.

*And don’t count on the press to hold the critics’ “feet to the fire”. The critics have gotten a “free pass” from the press ever since August 26, 2014, when the first bond vote failed by just 25 votes.

“No Thanks” to the critics, roads like North ‘J’ Street in this City will finally get fixed. There’s finally a plan in place.

“Captain’s Corner”: A message from PBSO Cpt. Baer on the Heroin Epidemic in the little City of Lake Worth.* There remains a tremendous amount of interest in this topic. Please feel free to copy and paste this link and share with your friends and neighbors.

You’ll find Cpt. Baer’s latest message and more very important information using this link. And remember, for the latest news from the City use this link and scroll down for “Special Announcements”. Also look for “Special Events”, “News”, and things like “Services & Departments” as well. Without further ado. . .Captain’s CornerGreetings, The United States is currently dealing with a heroin epidemic. As you know, Lake Worth is no exception. The resurgence of heroin, coupled with other drugs such as fentanyl and carfentanyl, along with many unscrupulous treatment providers has created a perfect storm. Drug dealing crews are fighting over this lucrative turf with new addicts arriving every day.Last year in the City of Lake Worth we had 396 overdoses, 78 of which were fatal. What is PBSO doing about it? We are attacking this crisis using a multi-prong approach:

Assigning a District 14 Deputy to the State Attorney’s Office Sober Home Task Force.

Commissioner Amoroso is a member of the Civilian Sober Home Task Force.

Assigning a member of our Behavioral Services Unit to District 14. Dr. Lamotte is meeting with overdose victims and enrolling them in treatment.

Multiple narcotics enforcement operations each year and use of nuisance abatement.

Membership on the Heroin Task Force (myself and Commissioner Amoroso).

Do you know where to find “Corrections & Clarifications” in The Palm Beach Post? In the print edition you can find those on page A2, on the back of the front page, below the fold. Don’t get the print edition? Then you’re out of luck. Learn more about that using this link.

There’s another election news error in the Post, in today’s (3/6) print edition which is also online(error highlighted in yellow below). Omari Hardy is a candidate for the District 2 race. A District 3 race wouldn’t happen until March of 2018.

For the error that was corrected about the upcoming election on March 14th in the city of Greenacres use this link:

“A previous version of this story incorrectly said Jonathan Pearce was active in the county Republican Party and that he had resigned his council seat to run.”

Today is the Lake Worth Very Very Special Monday Collector Print Edition (LWVVSMCPE). Again. Every Monday. It’s never been explained why Lake Worth is so special. Why can’t Greenacres, Palm Springs, and Lake Clarke Shores be special sometimes?

The entire 4-minute video of Mr. Hardy’s closing remarks at the Lake Worth Playhouse Debate on January 2nd is below, which includes the quote pulled by the Post in the LWVVSMCPE today, taken out of context:

[Omari] Hardy, a civics teacher at Roosevelt Middle School who’s
running for the District 3 [sic; should be “District 2”] seat against Christopher McVoy and William
Joseph, recalled his friend said Lake Worth isn’t a nice place to live. “I found that upsetting,” Hardy said.

Mr. Hardy’s remarks concerned the attention, or rather the lack of attention, given by Commissioner McVoy addressing many of the issues, problems, and concerns of residents in District 2.

Below, scene from McVoy’s re-election party in March of 2015*

Click on image to enlarge:

Comm. McVoy (blue shirt) likes to make promises. Like not raising electric rates. But 6 months after being re-elected in 2015 he broke that promise.

Omari Hardy at the Playhouse debate addressed many issues, including crime, and the fact that District 2 Commissioner McVoy was first elected in 2010, crime continued to be an issue in his district, and after being re-elected in 2015 promised to “pivot” and focus more on “at risk” neighborhoods: that “pivot” by McVoy never did happen.

Enjoy the video—the comments by Mr. Hardy—in context:

*In 2015 commissioners McVoy and then-citizen Ryan Maier ran as a slate, e.g., bringing more investment into the City and fixing the roads. McVoy went on to oppose the Neighborhood Road Bond in 2016. Maier supported that bond and payed the price: he lost the support of those that got him elected and he is not seeking re-election.

Below is a re-post from yesterday (Sunday, 3/5) for anyone who may have missed this news. Check back later today for the next installment [UPDATE: awaiting for more information; please check back tomorrow], a much shorter one, about the Blueway Trail Coalition meeting last Friday, March 3rd. And also please take note: I am not an engineer, a scientist, or even a trained journalist.* The information I am providing below, however, I hope you find informative and helpful.

Click on photo to enlarge. Recognize anyone?

The latest Blueway Trail Coalition (BTC) meeting was held at the South Olive Community Center. This was a departure from previous meetings held at the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) headquarters. All BTC meetings are open to the public and an opportunity for public engagement. Other locations may be selected in the future. Stay tuned for further information on this blog.

The group reviewed plans prepared by Taylor Engineering for a boat lift mechanism and portage design concepts at Spillway Park in the City of Lake Worth. The land is owned by SFWMD and maintained by the City. The project would create a bypass of the water control structure (S155 Spillway) to allow boats ≤26′ in length to navigate to and from the Lake Worth Lagoon, aka, the Intracoastal Waterway.

Aerial view of site. One illogical tale about the Blueway Trail was from a Lake Worth commissioner who claimed this project would be like “putting I-95 right there”. The facts have since overtaken the many myths from the City dais.

Below are slides I captured with a camera during the meeting. It’s my understanding the presentation will be available soon on the Blueway Trail website. The big change from previous discussions was the possible integration of a “living shoreline” as part of the plan, instead of relying on a traditional canal bulkhead.

Click or hover over the images below to enlarge.

The project study is being funded by the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC) and is nearing the end of the conceptual design phase. The eventual “end product” will be a permit package to be submitted in June. Here are some conceptual designs:

Above and below are the more refined versions of the conceptual design. The group focused mostly on Alternatives 5 and 6 for discussion. The consensus seemed to be, from my perspective, a combination of the two should be studied by a subcommittee and possibly presented next month.

Concerns included kayak access given the 3:1 slope between the land and water. It was suggested placing a platform midway on the slope might be one way to address this. In both concepts the boat lift would consist of a crane-like device that would slide boats on a beam west-east and east-west bypassing the S-155.

Alternative 6 would include an optional bulkhead: the placement further up the slope and an integration with a pedestrian platform. A hybrid design that will be considered in a few weeks by another subcommittee.

Concerns voiced by a representative of SFWMD was any superstructure for the boat lift, e.g., a roof or covering for the crane/beam, would need to be removable for maintenance purposes and for approaching major storms. However, a roof was seen as an optional element.

There was discussion what would happen to the operation of the facility during times of high water velocity through the S-155 Spillway.† It was thought rather than attempt to install a dissipation device it might be best to close the boat lift facility prior to any possible weather events. SFWMD also said floating docks would not be permitted.

However, SFWMD would allow removal of the invasive vegetation such as Brazilian Pepper along the shoreline and would need to be advised and ultimately permit, or deny, what plants and/or trees would be part of the right-of-way so their crews could maintain the area and keep it safe for the public.

The group also saw the cost summary prepared by Taylor Engineering. Both alternatives were relatively close to one another in terms of cost.

There was also discussion how automated the facility would be, how a user-fee would be incorporated into the operational plan, and what entity would be responsible for the day-to-day operation (personnel, daily maintenance, etc.).

If you made it this far, Thank You for visiting today! And stay tuned for more information tomorrow and throughout the week about last Friday’s BTC meeting.

*For everyone wondering why The Palm Beach Post is not reporting this news, that is anyone’s guess. Draw your own conclusions. The Post is also ignoring this news about research on energy generation using the Gulf Stream Current as well. Both of these projects would benefit our region and many local cities as well, providing a boost for our local economy in Palm Beach County.
†FYI: The “Spillway” is an oft-misunderstood term for obvious reasons. Water doesn’t flow or “spill over” the the water control devices, the water flows underneath.

Per Gabriel Alsenas, the program manager with the Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center (SNMREC) at Florida Atlantic University and SNMREC’s chief engineer, Bill Baxley, protecting marine wildlife is a crucial part of any and all research going forward. The habits and behavior of sea life will be studied and technology developed to protect animals such as sea turtles.

Use this link to hear the radio program on WGCU from Feb. 21st titled, “Blue is the New Green: Marine Renewable Energy Hopes to Harness Florida’s Tides”.

Lake Worth Utility Director Jack Borsch is also interviewed. Here is an excerpt from the text of the article at WGCU by reporter Matthew F. Smith:

“Clean, renewable energy has been the goal for environmentally-minded energy users, aspiring engineers, and businesses and utilities alike. In Florida, solar power is often touted as the solution to the Sunshine State’s energy needs, but a group of researchers and engineers in South Florida think ‘blue energy’ derived from ocean currents like the Gulf Stream has just as big a part to play in renewably powering Florida’s future.Big enough, they contend, that they’ve inked a deal with a Southeast Florida utility to advance the project.”

What “Southeast Florida utility” would that be? The Electric Utility owned by the City of Lake Worth!

Sunday, March 5, 2017

One of those ads published by The Palm BeachPost is below, “DRAIN THE WASHINGTON SWAMP!”

Don’t Hillary Clinton supporters deserve an explanation? Following the election results last November the editor(s) at the Post hosted a Facebook forum to appease Trump supporters who felt they were disparaged and maligned in some way by the newspaper.

However, the big unanswered question is why didn’t The Palm Beach Post editorial board endorse Hillary
Clinton in heavily Democrat-leaning Palm Beach County? They didn’t
endorse then-citizen Mr. Trump either. Why didn’t they make any endorsement for President of the United States?

The last one of those ads (see below) greeted readers on a Sunday morning, November 6th, 2 days prior to the elections. How many people were caught off guard that day and spilled coffee all over the place? Choked on a muffin when they saw “DRAIN THE WASHINGTON SWAMP!”.

Did the decision of no endorsement for Hillary Clinton simply come down to appeasing the Bernie Sanders supporters? If that’s the case maybe they forget this election result:

The primary results from 2016.

Didn’t Clinton supporters in Palm Beach County deserve an explanation or even a Facebook “Live Chat” like the supporters of once-citizen and now President Donald Trump got?

Hard to believe, this ad in the Post was published just 119 days ago (as of March 5th):

A full page ad in the Post on Sunday, November 6th, 2016, page A5. How many more Republicans got motivated to turn out on Election Day?